Such is the nature of the NFL, where the folks who manage the business side of a team and those who run football operations often measure success via different hash marks.

So it is that there is a split within the Chargers organization over a developing issue that makes perfect sense to those whose job it is to generate the buzz and bucks and is considered folly by the men solely committed to creating victories.

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The Chargers are -- wait for it -- considering appearing on the HBO documentary show “Hard Knocks” in 2014.

“We’ve educated ourselves as to what the process is,” Chief Executive Officer A.G. Spanos said Sunday.

Spanos said the team has not been officially asked to do the show next year, but sources indicated the team is considered a favorite. And Spanos clearly is in favor of participating -- for the effect it can have on ticket sales and brand recognition.

“No doubt,” he said. “We’ve talked to other teams that have done the show and gotten feedback on how it’s helped them. Business-wise, every team has been helped by being on the show.”

The caveat, Spanos knows, is his use of the word “business.”

When presented with the possibility of the Chargers being featured on “Hard Knocks,” safety Eric Weddle jerked his head back, scrunched his nose and said, “Why?”

Clearly he had in mind that “Hard Knocks” cameras are allowed virtually full access to the team it is profiling.

Weddle may have been less repulsed had he been told the Chargers were changing their color scheme to include fuschia or that the Charger Girls would now be calling plays.

Quarterback Philip Rivers was typically diplomatic – after an extended grimace followed by an uncomfortable smile.

“Obviously, these decisions are made in higher places than I am in,” he said. “Whether it happens or not, I’m going to be the same, act the same in my role as quarterback. But if asked, I’d say, ‘Please don’t.’ ”

For “Hard Knocks,” many players and coaches are mic’d during and after practices, which is much of what makes the show so interesting. Cameras are present in team meetings and sessions in which coaches and personnel people discuss players.

How in any way does having those distractions align with the goal of building a winning team? Why would any coach want to have to worry about what he said in what are supposed to be free-flowing idea sessions?

Mike McCoy has greatly limited where media and fans can even stand during training camp. He has refused to answer questions about any injuries and has instructed his players to do likewise. And yet he’s supposed to be OK wearing a microphone to let the world in on what he’s worked to shroud in secrecy?

“We just have to sit down as an organization and discuss exactly what we want to expose everyone to,” McCoy said. “You can see both sides of it. You see the exposure it brings to an organization, but there are also things you don’t want to put out.”

There is an inherent difference of opinion even in the Spanos family, as A.G.’s brother, John, is the Executive Vice President of Football Operations.

"It's a very entertaining show," John said. "I enjoy watching it ... Now, everything we do (in football operations) is working toward what gives us the best chance to win. My brother and I work in very different ends of the building. ('Hard Knocks') merits a discussion, but you can guess what side of the fence I land on."

A.G. Spanos acknowledged, too, that new general manager Tom Telesco has expressed reluctance to cut a player on camera, the type of drama that “Hard Knocks” relies on.

“It’s going to be a total organizational decision,” A.G Spanos said. “In order for ‘Hard Knocks’ to work, everyone has got to be on board.”

There are degrees of “on board.” Coaches have reluctantly acquiesced to the wishes/demands of their bosses on “Hard Knocks” before.

And that the Chargers are even talking about this is significant. “Hard Knocks” has wanted the team before, but the discussion was a non-starter. The notion of former general manager A.J. Smith agreeing to cameras behind the scenes is, well, I can’t even finish that thought.

And while team president Dean Spanos remains opposed to the idea, he is increasingly deferring to A.G. and others on the second floor who see green more in the shade of money than Field Turf. To that faction’s credit, the Chargers have been much more innovative marketers recently, in part because their greatest marketing tool (winning) has been scarce.

Everyone in the organization sees both sides of this issue. But it’s pretty clear the football brains should prevail.